tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58120529234769810282012-02-17T10:41:50.094-08:00Tales tall and small about a fast-growing little man we shall call Mowgli.Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-88978615179648453862012-01-17T09:28:00.001-08:002012-01-17T09:42:14.555-08:00

Imagine that, I'm the mother of a toddler and I haven't been blogging lately!Mowgli occasionally makes a soft popping sound of displaced air and then doesn't fit into the legs of his trousers the same way. If I'm measuring right, he's back up to the 90th percentile after a bit of a lag. This despite the fact that he's still largely a fruitarian--we have reached the compromise position that

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-90203864333177676712011-07-14T09:24:00.000-07:002011-07-14T09:30:24.531-07:00

Mowgli has experienced Star-Crossed First Love now. In the Wal-Mart yesterday, checking out balls and things with wheels, he found a Lightning McQueen and a Mater, just shy of shoe-box sized and rated for rather older children, and fell in love.However, I'd been more in the frame of mind to spend maybe three bucks on a ball or a wheeled turtle, and furthermore it was time to go home for lunch

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-733235981915100452011-06-27T10:37:00.000-07:002011-06-27T10:43:58.354-07:00

Classically, when parents go to a toy store, it's their job to say "No" a lot. We're far from classical, apparently.Mowgli now has a toy drum because his father thought he needed it. He agrees with his father, as it happens, but it wasn't his idea. Neither were the wooden puzzles, though he loves them, or the new vocabulary-building board books which give him so many opportunities to announce

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-60563453492751686152011-06-20T10:56:00.001-07:002011-06-20T11:04:58.115-07:00

People with small dogs didn't love their puppies as much as they could have. (Clifford)8 plus 12 divided by 2 equals 10. (Crashbox)If you are lost in the woods, follow a frog. (Wow Wow Wubbzy)Nature and animals are all friendly. (nearly all of them)No-one can do anything alone. (WonderPets)The use-mention distinction is irrelevant. (Word World)Unaccompanied monkeys can accomplish a lot. (

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-52705317453473732842011-03-24T09:21:00.000-07:002011-03-24T09:40:12.714-07:00

I have the National Geographic channel on for the nifty astronomy and am thinking deep thoughts about humans' ability to consider powers of ten.You see, the show is one of those terror-producing explorations of the impending doom of the Earth when the sun goes into its red-giant phase. It'll happen, and "sooner than we thought!" There is much emphasis on how one solution, pulling the Earth into

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-10317114995272371322011-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:002011-02-07T13:41:40.267-08:00

The little tyke is asleep at last, and I'm trying to get some writing done. Blogging sometimes gets the ideas flowing.It's hard to switch gears to fantasy worlds from the grim gritty reality of trying to get the little one to eat ANYTHING other than fruit. Also from the grim gritty reality of grim gritty reality, where it's a fine and wonderful thing that the child is fond of the Swiffer and

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-6806816914261792122010-12-14T10:55:00.001-08:002010-12-14T11:29:02.173-08:00

Mowgli has reached the age of grabbing the computer keyboard whenever I turn on the screen. This has, obviously, made typing more than a little difficult. Today he is taking an unusually long nap, allowing a certain amount of typing to happen. Despite the impediments, I have a new story out at Enchanted Conversation and have a couple more that need to be edited and sent around. Half-Sick of

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-81335641220608768612010-07-15T14:44:00.000-07:002010-07-15T14:46:35.988-07:00

Copied book blurb: Where you ever in Quebec ? Were you ever responsible for a yard sale, for a bake sale or for the resale of overly ambitious hedgehogs? Even if not, join the celebration taking place in Oblivious to the Obvious: Wishfully Mindful Parenting of junk mail-fashioned sculptures, of hungry, angry, riotous quolls and of shiny, acrylic pantsuits. As you turn this book’s pages, you are

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-70966984320462585812010-06-28T13:07:00.001-07:002010-06-28T13:21:31.176-07:00

I'm trying to complete rewrites on my Science In My Fiction entry. I am also trying to keep little Mowgli under some control or at least observation. He's determined to crawl after the dogs, the cat, and any fancy that strikes him. I'm determined to produce a good story.The story, however, is nearly as recalcitrant as the baby. Half of it is now in past tense, half in present, with switches

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-18113696324643780062010-06-14T09:41:00.000-07:002010-06-28T14:38:43.771-07:00

I'm also trying to get more people into the Travelers' Tales group, so if you want to follow my latest writing and publishing news, please join!

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-47727205161503154852010-06-14T09:14:00.001-07:002010-06-14T09:44:35.390-07:00

On The MoveThe baby is teething, crawling, kneeling, sitting, and doing his darnedest in the standing and walking departments. He's eight and a half months old, mind you, and I keep telling him there's no hurry. He disagrees. What he's not doing much of is sleeping.In the course of writing that last paragraph, I pulled him out of a corner, sent him after a push-and-go toy, and...and recovered

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-70211451270917901762010-05-04T11:15:00.000-07:002010-05-04T11:25:01.988-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Shadowfire Press picked up a set of stories I've been working on for some time, and the first will be coming out May 21. For those of you looking at your calendars, yes, that is SOON. Half-Sick of Shadows will be available in ebook format, and soon after, perhaps, the rest.This means that for the last few days I've been working on art request forms, taglines,

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-33150003868671800892010-04-22T07:30:00.001-07:002010-04-22T07:59:10.407-07:00

I just signed up for Boobquake on Facebook. Earthquakes have been on my mind lately -- and probably a good many other people's as well -- and it's both a good experiment and a good excuse to wear something low-cut. Unfortunately, we have a design flaw in the experiment, namely, that there are so darned many earthquakes lately that it'll be hard to separate signal from noise.Recently I was

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-84834058007801755002010-04-20T08:08:00.000-07:002010-04-20T08:25:13.797-07:00

I went shopping for a new sleeper for Mowgli yesterday. He's six months old now, and finally ready for those six-month-sized summertime sleepers everyone gave us in the belief they were getting things timed just perfectly.Problem is, the nine-month size goes up to 27.5 or 28 inches in most brands. He measured as 28 inches two weeks ago at his well-baby checkup, and probably has added a

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-10847833541279763122010-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:002010-04-13T13:20:45.038-07:00

Brightly colored toys are all the rage now. We've started on pop beads as a good outlet for Mowgli's desire to pull things apart and feel mighty. This desire has been very hard on his books! Also, ours. We're reading to him a little less now, but I'm trying to make up for it with lots of real-life experiences like textured quilts to crawl on and mango baby food to sample.Mango was okay. It

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-67201190566535688342010-04-08T07:31:00.001-07:002010-04-08T07:41:19.264-07:00

According to the baby books, a little fellow of Mowgli's age usually prefers red and blue to all other colors. Not this baby -- he likes yellow. In his Dr. Seuss book, he likes the yellow busy buzzy bees. Yesterday with his toes in the grass, he grabbed up a dandelion from amongst the violets and yanked its head off.It's a good thing he likes yellow, as our house is surrounded by oaks,

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-3930684449784938362010-03-26T13:25:00.000-07:002010-03-26T13:45:53.042-07:00

The preferred foods so far are rice, sweet potato, chicken, and beef -- and, apparently, high-chair tray. I'm beginning to feel even more like I'm raising a very slow-growing puppy.We went to the pediatrician this morning for shots. Doc says he's doing great, 50th percentile for weight and head size but 90th plus for length! Apparently he takes after his daddy. In the waiting room I gave

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-45999405141498932752010-03-16T08:15:00.000-07:002010-03-16T08:42:01.876-07:00

When Mowgli was a month or so old, he began to have screaming fits every evening until just about five minutes shy of the "Okay, we're calling the emergency room" point. Sometimes these fits were combined with cold, clammy skin and shivers, and we felt like terrible parents for letting him get a chill.I called the pediatrician, of course, and the nurse told me colic was perfectly normal. We

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-80358257367031902592010-03-16T07:47:00.001-07:002010-03-16T08:28:29.082-07:00

1/2 cup wild rice1 1/2 cup water1/4 tsp each cinnamon, ginger, cardamom1/8 tsp allspicesmall dash black pepperSimmer together until rice is fluffy and water has vanished.Add:2 cups DHA-fortified soymilk8 chopped dried sulphite-free apricots1 tsp vanilla1/2 tbsp honeySimmer together until thickish, then chill.Hmm. Now I have to go have a helping. This wasn't for Mowgli, as you could tell from

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-63537155360763587912010-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:002010-03-04T14:50:03.055-08:00

Mowgli is now five months old and making syllables like mad. Some of them are consistent: "Muh" noises, once or several times, indicate distress or hunger; "Da" syllables are attention-seekers; "Bub-bub-bub" seems to mean an uncomfortable diaper. I'm getting a little better at catching these.Last night, however, he was yanking the ladybug on his bouncy chair and playing "If You're Happy and You

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-5795550348252017922010-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:002010-03-03T13:26:53.480-08:00

Is winter over yet?

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-38625851946538013792010-02-26T09:40:00.000-08:002010-02-26T09:42:53.590-08:00

I picked up some sensible books on getting Baby to sleep. They're not doing much for us, though. We put Mowgli to bed when he starts acting tired and close the door and plug our ears. If he's really tired, he might sleep six or seven hours, with or without a feeding along the way. The last couple of days, he hasn't napped.Today, at last, I stuck him in a car seat to take Daddy to a bus stop

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-88618270341887682422010-02-25T06:50:00.000-08:002010-02-25T07:32:36.905-08:00

Three news stories put up blips on the Mom Radar yesterday, and I want to share all three. I'm not sure which is most upsetting.First there was the Pedophile Pediatrician. Moral of the story: stay with your child at all times, I suppose. I can only figure that a huge number of parents figured doctors know best and children always say they're scared of getting hurt at the doctor's office. And

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-18254237601984641252010-02-16T10:30:00.000-08:002010-02-25T07:33:08.832-08:00

Mowgli may just be his mother's son, at least as far as dog-show watching goes. We sat on a blanket on the floor and did fun things, sitting and standing and tummy-time, and watched the rerun of Westminster's first groups this morning. Since I grew up with Smooth Collies and have shown, worked sheep, and done SAR with German Shepherd Dogs at various times in the past, I was happy to see him so

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-77520083699113349542010-02-15T08:38:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:57:27.817-08:00

The book says Mowgli is the right age to discover his feet. He is indeed doing new things with them, though he's been kicking his bath toys with great accuracy for a couple of months. Now he also grasps the bath scoop between his feet to raise it to his hands, then pours the water inside into his mouth. Yay, baby! Luckily the soap is entirely edible, or so claims the bottle. He seems to like

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-87398971730059836542010-02-10T10:31:00.000-08:002010-02-25T07:33:32.838-08:00

That's blurred toes, not blurred baby. This picture is now nearly two months out of date and the foot has grown enormously!

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-61718652332748321682010-02-03T09:15:00.001-08:002010-02-03T09:23:36.157-08:00

We're giving up on our third attempt to have hands-free baby carrying. I'm beginning to feel somewhat expert in what can go wrong, so for babyless gift-givers, I offer the following guide to purchasing a baby sling or pack for expectant friends.1. When you go shopping for this, take along your pet monkey (well-diapered, of course). If you do not have a pet monkey, borrow one. If you cannot

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-15473444136367926322010-02-03T08:42:00.001-08:002010-02-03T10:08:34.210-08:00

We made rice cereal last night. After a week of having a cold, I wasn't doing as well as sometimes on the milk production. Too, Mowgli has been watching us eat with great fascination for a month now. He would watch our spoons and make little mouthy faces. By his reckoning, if not quite the pediatrician's, he was ready to give this food thing a try.He seemed to have a good time. His father

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812052923476981028.post-72474353563359823852010-02-01T08:26:00.001-08:002010-02-01T08:37:43.719-08:00

It was inevitable. I write. I have a baby. Sooner or later, I was going to start writing about the baby.Right now I'm juggling contractual requirements for a novella by my Evil Twin (you know, the one who writes the smut), a couple of back-burnered short stories, and breastfeeding. I'm learning to type one-handed while supporting a hefty little boy with the other arm, but I'm getting back

Sniffydoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05920202131267426528noreply@blogger.com2